A drone killed a French photojournalist on assignment in eastern Ukraine's Donbas region on Friday, October 3, two media unions and a Ukrainian military unit said.
Ukraine's Fourth Armoured Brigade and France's President Emmanuel Macron said a Russian drone had killed the photojournalist, Antoni Lallican. Ukrainian journalist Georgiy Ivanchenko was wounded in the same attack. Both reporters were embedded near the area of Druzhkivka, around 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the frontline in the Donetsk region, Ukrainian authorities said.
Lallican, a Paris-based reporter whose photos had been published in Le Monde, among other French publications, was 37, according to photo agency Hans Lucas. The Fourth Armoured Brigade said he had been killed by an "enemy" drone.
"Both journalists were wearing personal protective equipment, and their bulletproof vests had identification marks with the word 'PRESS' on them," it said on Facebook, adding that Ivanchenko's condition was stable.
The European and International Federations of Journalists condemned what it called a "war crime" and called for an investigation.
"This is the first time a journalist has been killed by a drone in Ukraine," the EFJ and IFJ said.
Macron said Lallican was the "victim of an attack by Russian drones." Including Lallican, at least 17 journalists have been killed since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. Among them, rocket fire killed AFP video journalist Arman Soldin in 2023.